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May you live in interesting times.
That’s what the future cookie said.
There is wisdom in crunchy Chinese sweets.
I think there’s wisdom in just about anything though.
And gurus the world over look for ways to personalize it.
May your life be like a cucumber, long and juicy.
Or May the Forth be with you always.
I could make a long list.
I bet you have a tee shirt with a phrase or two on it that sums a philosophy up nice and easy in just a few words.
My favorite was Keep on Truckin.
Or Get After It.
Or Never go against a Sicilian when death is on the line.
I think we need more Tee Shirt philosophy to get through life.
Especially this year.
I had a friend post a CDC report about Covid Deaths on FB. Then I watched as a dozen of his “friends” piled on and called him an idiot, a sheeple, and just got nasty.
All he asked was who should we trust with numbers? CNN’s very HIGH numbers? FOX NEWS very low numbers? A Nurse in NY who says she was told to attribute every death to the Coronavirus, no matter the cause, or the CDC, who wrote the disclaimer their numbers were two weeks behind.
This is a nice guy. Posts about his family all the time. I’ve known him since college. Never a harsh word about people. Most of his criticism is literary or film base.
Not people.
Didn’t stop the vitriolic spew though.
I have some thoughts about bullies.
Anyone who’s read some of my books or westerns know exactly how bullies should be treated. A harsh swift kick to the dingus.
I have some thoughts about the news.
You guys know I don’t trust it.
And I have some thoughts about people. Who we are and where we are going.
Maybe the tee shirt should say JUST BE NICE.
Or IT STARTS WITH ME.
We can even say BEING NICE STARTS WITH ME.
I might even write a self help book about it.
We could call the title TAP THAT KEG. (Kindness, Empathy, Gratitude.)
If you have a story about kindness, or empathy, or gratitude, send it to me or write me a note about it.
I’d love to read it.
Today is also an amazing day in history.
It’s Taco Tuesday and All Day Happy Hour.
The Universe has conspired to say, hey, sorry bout your luck but here are two things that make 90% of the world happy both on the same day.
My wish for you is much tacos y cervezas (or iced tea, or Coke) today.
From ATTACHE
She must have slipped him a mickey. And she had to have help.
There was not other way.
He wasn’t a big man, not by any stretch. He was average in every way. Average height. Average looks. Average weight. NDC. No distinguishing characteristics. NDM. No distingusing marks.
But she couldn’t carry him. She landed somewhere between one twenty and one thirty. Strong build, strong arms, great shoulders.
But not strong enough to manhandle an unconscious body. Therefore there was help.
He just didn’t know who. Or why.
The why was important. He was offering to help, but now the situation had turned. Gone sideways.
They weren’t quite off the map yet, but it was headed in that direction.
And when things went sideways, he had a usual response to it. Kill everyone and disappear.
Which wouldn’t work, because she was alphabet. She was CIA or NSA or one of the other off the books, dark op agencies that used the US embassy as cover.
And if she died in the line of duty, that would bring some heat from somewhere. It would bring out hunters who specialized in wet work and cleaning up messes.
Most of the alphabets were highly compartmentalized. To each his own duty and such. Or she, in this case.
She was an operator. But green. Fresh. That much he knew. There would be blowback if an operator died.
She would get a star on a wall at Langley, and he would just cease to exist.
Not a fair trade off, he decided.
Brill cracked open his eyes.
There she was. Her hair was still damp from a shower, same clothes as the night before. Same look in her eye. Curious. Wary.
“You’re awake,” she said.
He didn’t need to nod or answer. She could see it.
“You don’t ping in the system,” she told him.
Again, no need to answer.
She would have pulled his prints, maybe swabbed for DNA and checked. He wasn’t in any systems. Not anymore. Not ever again.
He had saved a robin hood hacker from getting killed and in return, the kid built a trojan horse virus that made Brill invisible. Forever.
Someone would enter information into the system about him, and an hour later, it was gone.
Technology at its finest.
“You didn’t have to roofie me,” he said. “I would have gone willingly.”
She cocked her hip to one side and looked at him through strands of hair that cascaded across her face.
“Would you have?”
He sat up, and held the edge of the bed for balance.
“Probably not.”
“Then I chose wisely, didn’t I?”
He looked around. They were in a hotel room, not high end, not a cheap by the hour place either. Middle of the road. A thousand rooms just like it in hundreds of places around the city.
AND
Check out FALSE FLAG – The Shadowboxer Files
AND
IRON RATIONS – MASSIVE SCI FI COLLECTION
How Far Would You Go To Keep Your Kids Safe?
Battlefield Z Complete Adventures
Pick up your copy of The Dipole SERIES BOXSET
That’s two BRAND NEW wild west adventures just for you.
Hunting Bill Bonney - a wild west adventure tale
Gun Music - a wild west action adventure
Go Add these to your collection today.